The Invisible
by LaueHime
Summary: Naruto is beaten down and left in the woods to die. How ironic is it that the only person who can save him is the very person that did this to him?
1. Prologue

**A/N : **

**First of, this is my first Naruto Fanfiction so please be indulgent! **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or **_**The Invisible**_**, the movie I got the idea from. **

**Additional info: The story sets off somewhere between the beginning of the kids being genin and the chūnin exam (which hasn't happened yet). If you have any questions, feel free to ask!**

**Now let's start this in hope you will enjoy!**

**

* * *

**

**Prologue**

Yet another ordinary day started for the golden-haired boy. Hardly stirring is way out of bed, a glance at the clock ensured him that it was time to go out and train. Excitedly, he poured some boiling water in a cup of instant ramen while clumsily putting on his bright orange suit. As soon as the meal was ready to eat, he engulfed it and drowned it with a large glass of milk. Setting it down on the table, he hopped out of his seat and ran for the door. He wouldn't want to be late now, would he?

As if he could not get tired, he ran through the busy streets of Konoha. Merchants and shop-owners where then setting their stands for the day. With his ever brilliant smile, he greeted them all on his way to practice. Most of them smiled and waved back to that kid they were so used to see. Soon, the kid crossed other ninja teams. He sent excited 'hi's to three kids his age, one of them a little plump, the other guy wearing his dark hair in a ponytail and a beautiful blonde girl. A little farther down the road, another kid his age played with a small dog while a purple-eyed brunette just blushed and fainted when he passed and saluted her by. Near the training fields, he crossed two guys in green spandex doing push-ups. He looked at them perplexed and went on.

The shinobi made a pause when he saw he had reached his final destination. Not so far from him stood a cute pink-haired kunoichi. The boy grinned. No one else was around to stop him from making his way to the girl he crushed on. She finally noticed his presence and rolled her eyes at the anticipation of the boy's next moves.

"Hey, Sakura!" he greeted her playfully. She just crossed her arms and stood impassive.

"What do you want, Naruto?" she asked through gritted teeth. His smile still didn't fade.

"I was just thinking that we could go out for dinner after practice!" he proposed. Sakura turned her face away, haughtily.

"Yeah right! Of course, I would go with you, Naruto!" she said sarcastically.

"Really?" Naruto's grin shone brighter. It quickly faded away when a heavy fist connected with the back of his head. The girl was now red in anger.

"No way! Get this into this head of yours, you idiot! There is no way a girl like me would go out with an idiot like you!" she snapped. Naruto massaged his head where it hurt and retrieved, sulking.

Not too long after, a raven-haired teenager joined his brooding team. Seeing no difference than the usual, the boy just stayed in his corner, thinking. Sakura noticed the newcomer and ran over to him with pink cheeks.

"Hey, Sasuke!" she giggled. He looked at her with disdain. Naruto turned to see them and rolled his eyes at how pathetic this scene was getting.

"What do you want, Sakura?", the blue-haired boy asked. She chuckled lightly.

"Well, I was thinking that you and I could go out together after training!" she proposed. He just looked away, arms crossed. "Hn. No way!" he spat. Her smile faded away.

"But why, Sasuke?" she almost cried. He looked at her haughtily.

"Because you're annoying!" he replied. The girl bit her bottom lip to keep the emotion from pouring out. Sasuke stayed indifferent and Naruto giggled in his spot.

"Well, well, I hope I ain't interrupting anything", a voice spoke. The three teammates spun to see their sensei perched on a tree branch. Before anyone could lend the usual blame on him, he spoke first.

"Sorry I'm late, I got lost on the path of life…" he started.

"Cut it, Kakashi-sensei! We know all about your lame excuses!", Naruto spat. Kakashi sighed and got down the tree with the slightest thump when his feet hit the ground.

"I see you're all there. Are you guys ready to go on some training?" he inquired. The teens nodded with excitement. Except maybe for Sasuke who didn't display so much of his emotions but that did not make a remarkable distinction from every other time.

Team 7 hurriedly followed its sensei into the forest. They finally settled to a point and Kakashi attracted the attention over himself.

"Alright kids, listen up. Today's training will consist in developing your senses. If one thing is important to be a shinobi, it's to learn to use your senses when nothing else seems fit for the situation. Now you guys will have to rely on other things than your chakra. It might make you feel powerful and confident but what would you do without it? You need to be prepared!" the teacher explained.

"And how do we do that?" Sasuke asked, eagerly. Kakashi smiled under his mask.

"You will learn to track without using chakra" he replied. Naruto scratched his brow.

"Ok…But what does that mean?" he asked. The teacher's exasperation was visible, even through his mask. Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Idiot" he let out, just loud enough for everyone to hear it.

"Shut up, you bastard!" Naruto spat. Sasuke just gave him a condescending glare, to which the blonde glared back. Their teacher sighed.

"Enough boys. We don't have time to waste. When I'll give the signal, you will all be heading in different directions and track your comrades down. Once you find them, you are only allowed to disarm your partner to be the winner. Let's call these _gentle fights_. I'm not planning on you guys killing each other today. Understand?"

"Ossu!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Roger!" Sakura replied.

"Sure" Sasuke moaned.

"Besides, if you use chakra, I'll know it!" he threatened. After getting no answer, he grinned.

"Let's go then!" the silver-haired Jōnin ordered.

The three nodded and all went in different directions. Kakashi sighed and pulled out _Icha Icha Tactics_ before sitting comfortably at the foot of a giant tree. "Ah! Nothing beats a good rendezvous under the sun with a good book and some fresh air!" he jubilated.

Meanwhile, the split up comrades all went into their own things. Sakura found a spot hiding in a giant tree and started to ponder. _Using our senses? Hmm, that would be like using our ears and our nose. I'll most definitely lose! All I am good at is chakra control! Besides, Sasuke is good. I don't fear Naruto even the slightest bit but Sasuke…what if he comes at me? If he does, I'm done for!_

Sasuke wouldn't stop moving. He feared that if he stopped, he would give an easy opening for the two others to attack. What's more, he had to focus really hard not to use his _sharingan_. By doing so, he would be disqualified and, in other words, lose to Naruto. _No way, I will not lose to the likes of that idiot! I will find a way. Let's try to focus my energy to my nose! Maybe then I can get a scent of those two! If not, I'll use my ears. Naruto's so loud anyway! I'm sure he will give his position away! Hm! Loser!_

Naruto was jumping from a branch to the other, not really thinking. That wasn't his thing anyway. Oh well, he was thinking but it was only the echo of his own voice…nothing like real reasoning anyway. He finally ended up sitting in a tree to try and find a plan to bring the others down. After all, he couldn't lose to Sasuke! _Ok, so Kakashi sensei wants us to develop our senses. I'm not too sure of what he meant by that! Does he want me to use my sense of smell? Yeah, that may be what he meant by that. But how do I do that? I've never done this before! Ah! That's one more reason to do it! I'll get good at this and beat Sasuke! Yeah that's it! I'll focus and try to smell the two! I can do that! Dattebayo!_

Naruto tried to force his memory of his comrades' smell. _I think I can remember the smell of Sakura's shampoo. _He focused hard on that memorized odor and tried to feel it. He was about to give in when he felt something faint. A breeze of shampoo perfume brushed his nostrils gently. _I knew it!_ Without further thoughts, he ran towards the flagrance.

Sakura was keeping down on the ground, almost too scared to move because she knew her senses were bad when she didn't use chakra. Her fighting skills were off. She was more of a brain type of girl. As she thought that, her ears gave her a first alert that something was off. _Maybe my senses aren't too bad after all_. As she thought that, a flash of orange appeared to her. She took out her kunai and clung to it tightly. The flash wrapped around her and she screamed while hitting the air with her weapon.

Sasuke froze in his course after hearing a shriek. He smiled. _Hm. Who needs a nose when you've got someone like Sakura on your team? _But then he thought again and his smile faded. _Naruto._

Sakura held her arms above her head when the spinning stopped to loud moaning. She looked up to see Naruto clutching his shoulder with a pained look on his face.

"What the heck was that for?" he shouted, sporting his injured shoulder. Sakura put her hands on her hips in frustration.

"You deserved it, you idiot! You scared me!" she jerked. He glared at her. Before she knew it, her kunai flew the other way and Naruto gave her a cold glare.

"There. You lose. Who's the idiot now?" he asked, eyeing the kunai he just removed from the girl's hand.

"You are" came another voice. Naruto spun around quickly enough to see Sasuke coming down at him. Sasuke blinked and when he opened his eyes, the golden-haired boy had vanished. Sasuke's eyes snapped wide-open. _What? Where did he…_

Before he could seek his opponent out, a foot connected with his back, pushing him to the ground. As soon as he hit it, the foot that kicked him seconds ago stomped on his right hand, letting his kunai go loose. Sasuke blinked a couple of times to try and register what just happened. Sakura stood there, frozen. _Naruto..._

Naruto was grinning proudly but he was also pissed and Sakura could tell. "You see Sasuke, you take so much time thinking that you are so good that you forget Sakura and I even exist! You were so confident when you jumped on me that you were wide open. Unfortunately for you, my senses are seemingly better than yours! I knew you were coming from behind long before you even arrived! That smell of yours is unmistakable! You reek of narcissism!", Naruto lectured. Sasuke gave Naruto a push and rolled from under his rival to face him.

"Wow Naruto! Such big words for a pip-squeak like you!" he started, but Naruto was quick to take the upper hand again.

"You say that but in fact you're boiling right now because I win, which means I'm better than you! You can't accept that, for once, I can beat you at something! And that hurts your little ego because you know that you are weak!" he attacked, watching Sasuke's reaction and jubilating as the effect he wanted took over his friend. Sasuke was indeed boiling inside and his rage was making him twitch. Sakura noted it and tried to lay a hand on the raven-haired teen's shoulder but the boy shoved it away.

"Listen to me, you fool! I am not weak and I am not letting an imbecile like you win so easily! You smelled me right, good for you! How about we take it out in a one-on-one battle and decide who the real winner is? You don't honestly believe an idiot like you can beat me! You're so lousy and lame! You shouldn't even have graduated from the academy!" Sasuke snarled. He was clenching his fists so hard that his nails were digging his palm. Naruto was in the same position and the two were ready to rip each other's eyeballs out.

"Wanna take it out on me? I'll beat you to a bloody pulp!" Naruto threatened. If possible, Sasuke got even angrier. "Oh yeah? I would like to see that!" he challenged.

Sakura was almost in tears at how powerless she was in front of her two fighting comrades. "Stop it guys, let it go" she pleaded in a low, weeping voice.

"Oh yeah! Then let me show you! It will be me pleasure!" Naruto continued, ignoring Sakura's plea.

"Knock yourself out!" Sasuke growled.

Naruto raised his fist and plunged towards Sasuke. He was about to hit when he was stopped in motion. Someone held his wrist tightly. Naruto looked up to see an angered Kakashi, holding his forearm and pushing Sasuke back. The blonde shoved himself away from his sensei's grip. Sasuke didn't feel much like holding back though. As soon as Kakashi took a step backwards, he plunged forwards with the hopes of landing a fist in Naruto's face. Once again, the master put himself between his two angry students. This time though, he pushed them both so hard, they fell on their butts. Sakura breathed a sigh of relief as Kakashi eyed both his pupils with a look of anger and disappointment.

"What did I say to you, uh? I didn't want you guys to fight! Now can't I even leave you alone for an hour without you battling each other? You guys are unbelievable! And you call yourselves genin? I would return you both to kindergarten right now!" the Jōnin squalled. Both boys looked down. Their sensei sighed. "I'm very disappointed. I don't even care to know who won. I'm calling this off. You can go home" he added on a sadder tone. Sasuke wasn't done though.

"If this is over, then nothing is stopping me from beating you down, Naruto!" he growled. Naruto jumped to his feet. "There's nothing I want more, you bastard!" he spat. "You're so weak, you won't even lay a scratch on me!" he added. Sasuke growled like an angry beast. He pushed his sensei out of the way and hurried towards his opponent. He grabbed the upper part of his coat and held him against a tree. Naruto smirked and gave a violent kick to Sasuke's guts. The latter fell on the ground.

"Now that's enough, guys!" Kakashi shouted. They both froze. The anger in his tone made their blood run cold. Even Sakura could hardly hold herself up in front of her teacher's stance. They both stopped coming at each other with fists but the glare war was on.

"There is no wonder why you're alone! You're so annoying, it's a pain! You'll live alone and you will surely die alone!" Sasuke spat to Naruto's intention.

"Oh yeah? Well at least I'm alone because I've always been! Looking at you, it's no wonder you are alone! You're such a stuck-up asshole, it's no wonder you lost your family! They probably died to avoid having you around!" Naruto snapped back with a cornered smile. He knew he'd hit a fragile point. A fatal one, even. Probably. Sasuke froze and glared at Naruto with such hatred and coldness that if looks could kill, the blonde would be long gone. It hit so hard, the raven-haired couldn't even find the words to reply to this.

"That's right," Naruto continued. ", your meanie-meanie brother took them all out! So what? Get over it, you sissy! You'll never be strong enough to beat him, anyway! You couldn't even take _me_ down when I had my back turned on you! What are you going to do in front of him? He's just going to laugh at how pathetic you really are…Sasuke-_chan_!" he blurted out.

Sasuke's eye twitched. At some point, Kakashi feared that the teenager would jump on his rival and shred him to pieces with his bare hands. Sasuke was gone. The lone look in his eyes was enough to tell. He was beyond angry. The wrath was so strong, too strong to even get it out. And Naruto was so naïve, he didn't even see that. Or he did but it only fed his appetite for destruction. He had finally found a way to be stronger than Sasuke. He brought him down, ran him over and then beaten him down again to make sure he was lower than low.

"Naruto" Sasuke whiffed.

"You're nothing, Sasuke! Face it. You're nothing!" Naruto trailed off, just for the sake of it.

"Urusai, Naruto!" Kakashi barked. "You've said enough! Now just shut up, you idiot!" he finished. Naruto didn't wait to be told twice. He gave Sasuke a smirk before walking away. The Uchiha stood there, frozen.

Some time later, Naruto found himself behind the bar at _Ichiraku ramen_. He was still utterly pissed from the encounter he had had with Sasuke, but the pride of winning over the other teen was enough to cover up any hard feeling. The blonde had already eaten more than a normal human could take in and he still hadn't satisfied half of his hunger. And that new sense of smell he had. Where did that come from? Was it from the nine-tailed beast sealed within him? He certainly didn't know he had a gift for that but he knew for sure that it would help. Just as he thought that, a familiar smell filled his nostrils. He didn't have to turn to know who it was.

"Hn…Kakashi-sensei" he said without even looking up from his bowl. The elder scratched the back of his head.

"I see you really do have strong smelling senses…" the Jōnin admitted. Naruto didn't flinch.

"…but what happened with Sasuke…Naruto you went too far!" his sensei lectured. Naruto let out a nervous laugh.

"That bastard deserved it" he droned, mostly to himself. Kakashi shook his head.

"That is not the point. Think about how you would have reacted if someone said those things to you" Kakashi remarked. Naruto didn't even react. Feeling no cooperation from his pupil, Kakashi gave up.

"Honestly, Naruto I'm disappointed" he started but Naruto snapped faster.

"You already said that, old man!" he spat. Kakashi felt the coldness in the boy's voice and really couldn't wait for this to be over.

"I just wanted to say that you're the one who disappointed me the most! I didn't know you to be like that! You should be ashamed of yourself!" he blamed.

Naruto just turned his head the other side to avoid looking at his teacher. The latter sighed sadly and decided not to push it. He simply left. The ramen chef came to stare at Naruto, thinking maybe he would get an answer but the boy didn't speak. He clearly wasn't like himself tonight. His eyes then lay on something else.

"Hey kid, are you hurt?" he asked, eyeing the bloody gash on Naruto's shoulder. Honestly, with all the fuss, Naruto had completely forgotten about the cut Sakura's kunai left on him. He just gave it a quick peek and turned his eyes back down. "It's nothing, really" the boy whispered. The chef didn't push it and saw Naruto's bowl was almost empty.

"I'll tell you what, I'll make you my special recipe and it's totally on me!" he proposed. Naruto looked down at his bowl and at the few others lying next to it.

"No. Thank you but no. I'm not hungry anymore" he sighed. The man was puzzled. The kid really wasn't like himself tonight. He didn't push it though and Naruto paid for what he'd eaten and left.

Naruto walked alone in the dark streets of Konoha. He didn't know how long he'd been out there because his mind was clouded by a weird feeling. It was a mixture of anger and mostly, of guilt. Kakashi's last words had hit him and as he thought it over, he knew it was true. He hardly had enough time to react to the pink swirl that a hand connected hard with his cold cheek. He looked up to see a raging Sakura. She was about to tear him down but he could tell she was holding herself just enough to give him the couple of good slaps he deserved. When her frenzy was out, she started yelling at the blonde.

"How could you, you idiot? Do you even know what it's like to lose someone you love? How come you'd tease Sasuke with that! You're such an idiot!" she accused. When Naruto didn't reply, she got even angrier. "Don't ignore me! You screwed up! You laughed about the fact that Sasuke's family is gone but to tell you the truth, knowing you feel this way, I would probably do the same if it happened to you, Naruto!" she spat. Naruto finally looked up at her. His eyes were filled with pain. She felt her revenge was good and slapped him once more before storming off. Naruto stood there for several minutes before continuing his walk to nowhere. The cold gripped him but he kept going. Suddenly, a familiar smell came to him. It was getting closer and closer. A long shiver went down his spine. His whole body shuddered. Just as he was about to turn around, a sharp sting burned his back. He put his fingers to the aching point and felt the cold metal of shurikens. For a second, his vision blurred. He pulled back his fingers to stare at them. A warm and dark liquid ran thick on them. The smell of his own blood mixed with the cold smell of his assailant. It was so strong now that there was no doubt his enemy was right behind him. He swallowed hardly. He could feel the other's breath on his neck before the attacker spoke in a cold voice.

"Dobe…"


	2. Rude Awakening

''_Dobe…''_

The blonde did not have to turn around to know who had gotten him. Just the coldness in the guy's voice felt like thousands of burning daggers. His back started to feel the numbness from the loss of blood occasioned by the embedded _shuriken_ thrown by the enemy. Naruto breathed slowly. He didn't move. A hit then connected with the back of his head. He did not resist and was easily thrown to the ground. A dark figure stood above him. The coldness of the night gripped his bones and made him shiver. He turned to lay half on his back in order to face his opponent. A raven-haired ninja stared back at him, his killer intent tangible in the air. A slight grin crossed Naruto's face. He had expected so much from the Uchiha.

''Out to take your revenge, Sasuke?'' he said almost playfully. Sasuke pierced through him with his dark glare. He was in fighting mode, probably with the intent to finish the blonde off. Naruto didn't move or seemed to intend to run away. He didn't even try to defend himself. He just lay there and stared at Sasuke, waiting to see his next move. Sasuke gripped a kunai until his knuckles turned white.

''You'll pay for what you said'' he finally whispered, his voice as cutting as the wind. Naruto didn't flinch. It was as if he waited for his opponent's next move. Sasuke kicked the blonde in the gut. Naruto yelped out in pain as air ran out of his lungs quickly. He panted heavily to somehow try to fill back the cavity of his chest with oxygen. On his side, Sasuke wasn't the one who was intending to let Naruto regain his breath as if they were in a child's play. This was no fun and game. He wanted to destroy the blonde. He kicked him again and again. Naruto bit his pain away and tried to resist from letting tears run out. He bit the insides of his mouth to not let Sasuke retrieve any fun from it. Sasuke stopped kicking Naruto as he was out of breath and stared at him as if he were a broken animal on the road.

''You're such a failure, Naruto! Why don't you just die? Everyone would be better off!'' Sasuke spat. Naruto lay on the ground. He hardly moved or show signs that indicated that he would. Sasuke got even angrier with the blonde.

''Dammit Naruto, fight back! Are you a wimp? Or is it that you really have gotten weak?'' Sasuke wondered. Naruto coughed up droplets of blood and smiled.

''You got what you wanted?'' he whispered. Sasuke was pissed at winning effortlessly. It didn't feel like winning to him. He felt more as though he was cheating because Naruto wouldn't fight back. Sasuke started laughing coldly.

''Is that what I wanted? To beat you down while you didn't fight back? That is too easy! I could've done that while you slept but that would've been no fun.'' Sasuke growled. Naruto shrugged and just curled himself up around where he'd been hit. Sasuke got even angrier, if that were even possible. He ran to where Naruto laid, kunai held tightly.

''Stop ignoring me! What is wrong with you? The guy I know is an annoying idiot who screams around and cannot be tamed down! Why are you giving up?'' Sasuke yelled. He activated his _sharingan_ and when his eyes connected with Naruto's, he ended up in a dark place. The raven-haired tripped but caught himself up just before hitting the floor. He came face to face with a monstrous figure. The beast smiled with all of his wrath. Sasuke didn't understand at first. Then he saw Naruto on the side, looking weak. The demon then laughed coldly at the blonde's weakness.

''You get beaten up so easily, brat?'' asked the beast. Naruto looked down. Sasuke finally understood. He went closer to the monster. ''You're the nine-tailed fox, aren't you?'' he wondered. The demon started laughing.

''So that's the source of your strength, Naruto? That beast keeps you alive when you mess up?'' Sasuke reflected. The _Kyuubi_ stopped laughing and stared at the Uchiha's eyes.

''An Uchiha… it's no wonder you can come in here. I know those eyes'' the beast started. Sasuke grinned. ''Remember them well, monster!'' he spat. He then threw the kunai with all his might towards the beast. The monster exploded when the kunai connected with him. Sasuke started giggling. ''There goes you're indestructible strength, Naruto!'' he spat.

Seconds later he was outside again and Naruto looked weaker than ever. He was now nothing more than a limp heap on the ground. Sasuke laughed coldly and kicked him a couple of times again. Naruto had lost the strength and the will to scream. He just choked on his breath after each hit, occasionally coughing droplets of blood.

''Look at yourself, Dobe. You're pathetic!'' Sasuke spat. ''You're just a weak failure!'' he added. Naruto's eyes were empty. He just stared at the ground. A slight smile crossed his face once more.

''You're the weak one'' he breathed. Sasuke froze. ''What did you say?'' he asked. Naruto repeated a little harder. He somehow kept a smile on his face. Sasuke saw red.

''You call me weak, when you're the one on the ground? Spare me your crap! You're the weak one because everybody hates you!'' Sasuke snapped. Naruto laughed.

''And you hate everybody… How's that even better'' Naruto asked. Sasuke clenched his fists and punched Naruto in the face. ''At least people recognize my strength! They don't call me dead-last!'' he teased. Naruto panted heavily. His vision started to blur from the pain and dizziness took over him.

''You will always be alone, Sasuke. It's impossible to stand around you without wanting to die!'' Naruto spoke. Sasuke grabbed a kunai and punched Naruto again and again. ''You want to die, idiot? Then take this!'' he snapped. When he stopped, Naruto's eyes were closed. He lay unmoving and covered in blood. Sasuke took a step back to look at the broken figure.

''Such a loser. He couldn't handle that much?'' Sasuke wondered. He poked Naruto on the side but the blonde didn't move. A heavy silence fell upon them. Sasuke finally regained his cool. He looked up at the sky to see that the clouds had gotten out of their hide to cover up the stars. Only a fragment of moon light remained. A cool wind blew and droplets of water started to pour from the sky. Sasuke looked down at Naruto as if debating if he should leave him there or cover him. He bent down to check on him when he fully realized what he had done. Naruto was limp and cold. There were no movements coming from him. Not even the slightest rise and fall of a broken chest. The raven-haired checked for a pulse or something that would testify that his friend was still alive. He didn't find anything. To him now, Naruto's was nothing more than a bloody corpse. A lifeless corpse. And the worst thing that occurred to Sasuke is that Naruto seemed to have wanted this all along. There was still the shadow of a broken smile upon his bloody face.

Sasuke started to panic. What was he going to do now? The only place he knew was Konoha and now how could he go back and pretend that nothing happened? He could always lie and say that Naruto had been attacked by enemies. But the village would know soon enough that no enemies of the leaf would have been around long enough to do such a thing to the blonde hyperactive ninja. Besides, said blonde could have defended himself if such a thing happened. Sasuke did not know what to do. He started hyperventilating at the idea of being thrown out of town or even worse, being sent to the special forces of ANBU who would slowly kill him by torturing him. This had to stay his secret. He had to buy time until he figured out what to do in that case.

The idea struck him and it scared him to have to think of that. He had to find a place to hide the body and then return to the village. He dragged the heavy corpse for a couple of miles out of town and managed to find an old sewer on the side of the road, hidden behind bushes. He dropped Naruto in the hole and ran off towards town. This would have to be his secret.

**THE**_invisible _

The next morning, Sasuke was the first one to arrive to the team's reunion spot. He hadn't been able to rest at all over the night. The thought of what happened made him want to vomit. He was overall nervous about being caught. As much as he wanted Naruto to regret the things he said, he never wanted to go as far as to kill him. Sasuke would turn over hundreds of scenarios in his head. In those scenarios he either got caught by the special forces or the Hokage himself. He even thought once that Naruto would come out as a zombie and take the Uchiha to the grave with him. Sasuke was starting to feel paranoid. His whole body went stiff when Sakura arrived. He didn't know she was nearby and panicked when he heard her voice call out to him.

''Hey there, Sasuke-kun! You're early!'' she pointed out. He froze on his spot but wouldn't let her see that. He tried to act as cold as usual when he just wanted to run away or to tell her about what he did so she could kill him too. Instead, he shrugged her comment off and acted as usual even though for once it didn't feel natural.

''Sorry about yesterday'' she continued. ''Naruto was just being a pain as ever but I'm sure he didn't really mean it'' she added. Sasuke was processing every word now. He hadn't expected her to talk about the blonde so early. His heart beat so fast that he was afraid Sakura would hear it. He didn't want to talk about this. Not now. But he knew that it would have to come because there was no way Naruto would make it to the meeting. They would soon start searching for him.

''Hey Sasuke, are you listening to me?'' Sakura said, snapping him out of his thoughts. Sasuke turned to her in disbelief. ''You seem…distracted. What's on your mind?'' she asked. He shrugged it off quickly.

''Nothing, I'm just tired'' he admitted. Sakura frowned. Sasuke didn't usually complain about such things but she thought that if he said it, it must be true. ''I lectured him about annoying you anyway'' she started again. Sasuke turned to her confused.

''Who?'' Sasuke asked. Sakura sighed as if she was getting that he wasn't listening to her at all. ''Naruto! We were just talking about him'' she shrieked. Sasuke shrugged and considered this new information. So Sakura had seen him too. If the villagers knew that they would wonder about her too. She would be a possible suspect until Sasuke came up with a better idea to cover his crime.

Kakashi finally appeared to them. He wasn't as late as he usually was but the guy would never be on time in his life, Sasuke was sure of that. The _jounin_ joined them with a grin.

''Good morning, students! Where is our third member?''Kakashi asked. Both teens looked at each other. Sakura shrugged.

''For once he could have been on time since even you were, sensei!'' she said. Kakashi blushed at the mention of him always being late.

''Haven't you guys seen him this morning?'' Kakashi asked. Both shook their heads. Kakashi frowned.

''It's strange. I went to lecture him yesterday at _Ichiraku_ but he seemed out of mood'' the silver-haired explained. ''I didn't push it, I guess'' he added. Sasuke shivered. So Kakashi too had gone to lecture Naruto. That somehow put him at ease to know that they had all been angry with him the past day. This gave him a chance to remain innocent until anyone found out what really happened.

''Maybe he's too ashamed to come to practice?'' Sakura proposed.

''Ashamed or not, you guys need to be a three men's team in order to take on a mission. Without Naruto, we can't do anything'' Kakashi explained. Sakura started shouting all kinds of insanities while Sasuke remained passive. The less time he spent in missions with the team, the farther he got from being discovered. His blood went cold when Kakashi turned to him.

''And you, Sasuke? You haven't seen Naruto, have you?'' the teacher asked. Sasuke shook his head stiffly. Kakashi studied him for a few more seconds and then shook his head. ''Then we can't go on a mission today. You two can train if you want'' he simply said. Sasuke looked down at the ground and decided to leave.

**THE**_invisible _

Naruto came out of the bushes, somehow wondering how he managed to get there. He swept the dirt off his clothes and went down the road towards Konoha. It was early morning and the sun shone brightly in the sky. He passed the main gate and waved to the guards at the entrance who didn't send him any greetings back. He thought that they must have recognized him so he didn't need to check in. At that time, people started to get up and to wander around. Some stores were already opening their doors. He could smell the fresh scent of tea and rice as villagers had an early meal. Young kids ran down the streets and almost bumped into him. He took a step back just in time to avoid it. He started walking towards the small bridge where he always met with the team. Ahead of him, he saw two boys preparing to leave. One was a little chubbier than the second whom wore his hair in a pineapple fashion. Naruto recognized them from being members of another team and waved to them. They looked in his direction then went back to their conversation before leaving for training.

Naruto stayed there puzzled then continued on to the bridge. As he was getting closer to the bridge, he was bumped into and fell down. It took him a second to realize what happened when he saw two men wearing green spandex who were taking a run on their hands. Not once did they turn around to apologize. Naruto was startled but thought that maybe they were too busy to notice they had crossed his way. He got up and went on. As he got to the bridge, Sasuke and Sakura were talking together, which seemed unusual to him.

''Hey guys! Since when are you two interacting together?'' he joked. They didn't turn to look at him. He sighed. ''Come on, it's just a joke. There's no need to ignore me'' he said. Once again, they didn't turn. Sakura was wondering why Sasuke was there so early.

''Come on, Sakura. You know Sasuke is nothing of an early bird!'' Naruto joked again. Once more they acted as if he weren't there. The blonde started to feel irritated.

''Ok sorry for yesterday. I didn't mean it'' he apologized. They kept talking. Sakura then apologized for the previous day. Sasuke didn't seem to know what she was talking about.

''Naruto was just being a pain as ever but I'm sure he didn't really mean it'' she said. Sasuke shrugged. Naruto was confused.

''Yes, that's what I just said, but why are you repeating it?'' Naruto told Sakura. She went on as if he weren't there. ''Hey Sakura, are you listening to me?'' he asked louder. He got no response. ''Sakura!'' he yelled and put himself in between her and Sasuke. He then waved to catch her attention but she really didn't seem to turn to him.

''If this is a joke, it's not funny!'' he spat. ''Hey I'm right here!'' he yelled. Still nothing. Then Kakashi appeared and started asking where he was.

''I'm right here, sensei! Hey, in front of you!'' he screamed. Not knowing anything about him and his whereabouts, they all went off into separate ways. Naruto stayed there puzzled and scared.

''What's going on? They don't see me!'' he realized. He then ran off to town and tried talking to anyone who crossed his way. No one would reply. He accidently scratched his arm, only to see that his scar was gone within seconds. He bumped into people only to realize that they went on as if they never met any resistance. At the end, he climbed up the Hokage Mountain and jumped down. After a few seconds he was back up without a scratch. A long shiver crossed his entire body.

''It's as if I were a ghost. It's as if I were…dead''

**THE**_invisible_

**Now the story is settled. If anyone is reading this, please let me know and tell me what you think! You might check out the movie as well. It's pretty good and I guess I'll inspire a lot from that.**

**Thanks for reading and especially for reviewing!**

**TBC **


End file.
